For the Love of a King
by MeiDarkreign
Summary: The year is 729 Age, six years before Planet Vegeta's end. The war between the Saiyans and the Tuffles wages on. Chief Vegeta must reluctantly accept help from the Diminutive Saiyans. Little does he know, it will change his life, and his heart, forever.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey there! I think I have writer's ADD. This is the third story I am currently working on, but never fear! "A Lifetime of Learning" is almost complete, and then I will have much more time to dedicate to this story and "Doctor Doctor". Well, anyway, this idea came to me a few months ago, but then it morphed into this awesome idea that just had to be written down. This is the story of King Vegeta, before he was King, and of how he defeated the Tuffles, became King of Planet Vegeta, and found his queen. I do not have too much of this planned out yet, but it will be a decently long story. Much of the story will not contain the usual lemony material (it will eventually, though) because I want the characters to have a slow start but an awesome finish. Please read and give me feedback: any time I create an original character it is always difficult to gauge how the audience will react to that character.

Well, please enjoy. :)

**Disclaimer**: Dragonball Z belongs to Akira Toriyama.

* * *

He wished it had not come to this. The war between them and the Tuffles had waged for years now, and he needed the cooperation of the Diminutives in order to beat them back and have any chance at victory. Problem was his father was the only one they would speak to. Now his father was dead. Carelessness was more often than not the cause of Saiyan fatalities. The Tuffle weaponry was annoying much of the time, but very deadly when one was caught off guard. His father had been too arrogant to comprehend the audacity of the Tuffles to come so close to their camp, and he had paid for it with his life.

It was not as though he was not prepared to take over the duties of the clan chief, but it felt wrong to do so. These men and women had been following one leader, one set of orders for as long as they could remember, and now that was all about to change. He could not allow his clan to charge blindly into battles anymore. "Strategy is for the weak" was an old clan motto, and it needed to be stricken from history. The Tuffles outnumbered them ten to one on a good day and their weaponry and advanced technology gave them ample force to eventually win the war. There was always the trump card, the ultimate Saiyan form, but the moon would not yet rise for another year and that meant they needed to keep the Tuffles at bay for one more year. For that, they would need help.

Three clans existed amongst the Saiyans: The Dominants, the Dormants, and the Diminutives. His clan and the Dormants had long ago formed an alliance to wage war against the Tuffles. Though they lacked the strength of the Dominants, the Dormants had amazing chi abilities and a knack for adapting to even the most desperate of situations; without their help, the war would have been lost very early on. Unfortunately, the Tuffles were quite good at adapting as well. Energy shields protected many from the deadly chi and rendered all but the most powerful attacks useless. Now they needed numbers to overcome their foes.

The Diminutives were the outcast clan, in a sense. Diminutive Saiyans were much smaller than their counterpart Dominants and Dormants, lacking the bulk of the former and the height of the latter. But they were very fast and very strong. Clan relations had decayed and when the war began they stayed firmly out of it. His father was the only member of either clan to be allowed contact with the Diminutive chief. Meetings were held to discuss involvement in the war, and those talks had seemed to be going well. But with his father dead, he was unsure how they would deal with a newcomer.

* * *

She knew there was nothing she could say or do to convince him otherwise. For almost half her life the Saiyans and the Tuffles had been at war. Her clan had stayed out of the fighting, not because they did not wish to fight, but rather because the other clans had wished them to stay out of it. Arrogance ran strong within her race, especially among the larger ones. That was why she knew her brother could not deny an alliance with the other two clans: if they were coming to them for help, it meant they were losing the war.

Fighting was in her blood, a racial prerogative she had frequently made use of. War was not something she looked forward to, however, at least not with these people. Fist to fist, chi to chi, was how a battle should be fought. Not fist to phase pistol, chi to armored tank. It was not the way to fight, but she knew soon there would be little argument in the matter. And she would be damned if she was left out of the fight, no matter how dishonorable it might be.

Her thoughts were left undisturbed for a few hours as she sat outside the hovel she and her brother called home. She could have stayed by her brother's side, given him council, but she knew it was best to forgo that option. An immense dislike of the other clans ran to her core: their arrogance is what got her father and mother killed. A few years ago, they had gone to the Dominants' camp at their request to discuss an alliance. They never returned. The Dominants had assured her parents that the way to their camp was safe from the Tuffles. How wrong were they. She knew it was of no fault of the warriors, but the way of life that was seeped into their society was to blame. A warrior she may be, but she knew the merits of caution. Which was why she sat outside the meeting, holding her tongue from any scathing remark that might cause trouble.

When she finally heard movement, she stood straight with shoulders back and chin forward as the Dominants came outside one by one. It was odd no Dormants had come on escort duty, or even sent a representative, but she supposed they followed orders blindly and had no reason to question the Dominant way. She prepared herself to give up some dignity and bow her head slightly to the Dominant chief, but he never stepped out. Instead, it was her brother who did so and motioned for her to come inside.

"Sister, I would like to speak with you." That was never a good sign. He had the sweetest look plastered all over his face, and that meant he was going to ask her to do something she did not want to do. He guided her to the center of their home, where the meeting had taken place. Sitting at one side of the long conference table was the Dominant chief. He looked much like his father, but his shoulders were not nearly as relaxed and she sensed that he was on guard. It was hard to imagine a Dominant being intimidated by any member of her clan, though she suspected it was more his inexperience than his worry that stiffened his muscles.

Her brother motioned for her to sit opposite the Dominant chief and took his own place at the head of the table. She bowed her head respectfully towards the chief. "Chief Vegeta, this is my sister, Aina. She may not look it, but I assure you she is by far the best choice for my envoy." She whipped her head towards her brother.

"Kotak, you can't be serious! What do I have to offer the chief that one of our other clan members cannot?" He gave a pitied smile towards the other chief and was regarded in kind. Damn her brother. The mere thought of living with the arrogant bastards disgusted her.

"I trust you. Granted, I trust many of our clan, but you know what decisions I would and would not approve of. Besides, from what I understand, the other two clans are sorely lacking in anyone who can strategize. You used to be the best Maze Runner we had."

"That was years ago! Devising simple ways to outmaneuver adolescent boys was easy." A deep chuckle cut her remarks short. It originated from across the table.

"At this point, outmaneuvering a rock would be more knowledge than my people have. They seem to think blindly charging into a situation is the best, and only, option. For awhile, it worked just fine. And then the Tuffles got smarter. Simply put, we will lose this war if we do not learn to organize ourselves. I have some ideas, but any help would be very useful." He spoke very well for a brutish Dominant, but then so had his father. Something about being the chief of a clan gave one more charisma than the average man. Dokra, the chief of the Dormants, was rumored to use his talents for bedroom gains. Hopefully Chief Vegeta had no similar intentions.

She humpfed distinctly and crossed her arms, giving her brother a sharp look. "You are sure?" There was more than one implication. Surprisingly, her brother nodded without hesitation. She sighed and turned back to the Dominant chief. "Very well. I shall be my brother's envoy and your advisor. When do we leave?"

"As soon as possible."

"I'll get my things."

* * *

Her things amounted to very little, she realized. She had a set of winter furs, a few of her father's out-of-date maps, and a few personal necessity items. Otherwise, she had nothing. Perhaps war with the Tuffles would change that. For as long as she knew, the Tuffles had lived luxuriously in their big cities and had not even deigned to share any of that wealth or technology with her people. Better housing, superior medicinal remedies, these were what she wanted, but she knew there were other reasons for the war. Saiyans were power-hungry, always needed to expand. Staying clumped together in three clans for so many years would drive even the most placid race mad. To be honest, she was looking forward to seeing someplace other than the floodplain.

She had been flying slightly behind the Dominant chief and his escort, noting a particular order to things. No women were in the group, and the smaller members flew more near the outskirts of the formation. Within her clan, each member was treated equally, preference given only to the injured or the young. She prepared herself for a severe shock when she finally arrived at the Dominant camp, and was not disappointed.

A stark contrast to her clan village, the Dominant buildings were built into a giant mountain. The structures just begged to be challenged; they spoke volumes for the people they held within. She was led to the largest structure near the top of the mountain. The escort did not follow her or the chief inside. The chief's home was larger than her own, several more rooms having been carved out and furnished. Everything was bigger as well, she noticed, likely to accommodate the size of the native people.

"You may stay in this room." She stopped beside a modest room and took a look inside. It was sparsely furnished with a simple bed and a crude rack. "Please," he said, motioning her to look around. She did as bidden.

She set her pack of belongings atop the rack and gingerly sat upon the bed. The mattress was soft enough to get some decent sleep on, though she would need to be careful about any loose feathers that might poke her in her sleep. The furs covering the bed were soft and supple, though definitely aged. Simple, but functional.

"Is it to your liking?" She turned to him with a puzzled look.

"It is suitable. I do wonder why you care about my comfort, though." He chuckled lightly; something about the way his throat rumbled put her off guard.

"Your brother made me swear no harm would come to you, or else he would do something very unseemly to me; I would prefer to avoid that. Additionally, you have never been away from your clan, never witnessed our culture. Providing you with some level of comfort is minor penance for the shock you will endure once you begin interacting with the rest of my clan. By the way, there are certain things you should know and be aware of, as I did not see the same situation in your clan."

"And what might those 'certain things' be?" she said, eying him suspiciously.

"Firstly, we do have a hierarchy in place. The stronger one is, the higher in the hierarchy one will be. While our females are not discriminated against, necessarily, they do tend to be weaker than many of the males. As such, it would be a good idea to step lightly with your words around the males until you have formed an acquaintance with them." He said it with such a matter-of-fact tone.

"Does the same go for you? Need I hold my tongue in your presence?" Her words were biting, and she was well aware of her tone.

"Only in public, and then only until your presence has been established. Start spouting off or 'humpfing' around me too early while around my men, and you may find yourself quite injured for a long time. I did not bring you here because I wanted someone to agree with me. You are here to be my council, here to attempt to help me win the war. Withholding your opinion might be dangerous."

"But saying it around anyone else might be just as dangerous? Can your clan not take criticism?"

"Oh, they can, but most criticisms are followed by one of two results. One, the one providing the criticism dodges the resulting attack. Or two, the one providing the criticism does not dodge the resulting attack. Despite being of a different clan, I would think you and your people would have similar methods of conflict resolution." His voice had softened, quieted, and she knew he meant his words well and was trying very hard to convey the seriousness of his advice.

"Yes, we simply announce our intent to fight before we do so."

"So," he began. The next thing she knew she was out of breath and laying flat against the bed, watching the chief's arm retract from his assault. "Had I announced that, you would have been able to dodge it? I believe we can learn from each other. You can teach me about strategy, and I can teach you about keeping your guard up. The main meal will be served in an hour. After, a meeting will be held with my finest warriors, along with yourself and the Dormant envoy. In the meantime, I do not recommend wandering off. You may explore this building, but do not venture elsewhere." He turned and left the room.

She was still out of breath when she sat up from the bed, scathing. That bastard had struck her merely to make a point. The softness in his voice had not been one of caution; it had been a warning sign of his shift into his predatory mood. How damned interesting.

* * *

It was perhaps not the brightest idea to strike his Diminutive envoy, but she was being very stupid for someone acclaimed to be so smart. She may not have known she was challenging his pride with her words, but she would learn eventually to keep a cautious tongue when he was offering advice. Biting remarks about a battle plan would be welcome, but those same remarks made against his person could not be tolerated. He believed, though, there would be a fine line between the two, and he may need to sacrifice a bit of his pride so as not to lose the alliance with the Diminutives.

Strong-willed female. If she did not learn soon, he was afraid for what his clan might make of her. If they tolerated her for even that long.

* * *

A/N: One thing I would like to explain is my decision for three separate Saiyan clans. I've always noticed how there were really really big Saiyans (Nappa) and small Saiyans (Vegeta and Tarble). I figured it would only make sense for Saiyans of similar size and ability to come together and form a group. The Dormant clan is representative of Saiyans like Goku, Bardock, etc. Also, there needed to be a reason why King Vegeta was the one to rally the Saiyans and beat back the Tuffles. Anyway, I hope the idea isn't too silly, so please know I had a reasoning behind it. Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey again! It's been awhile since I updated, but I hope to be updating this story much more regularly now. I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** Dragonball Z belongs to Akira Toriyama

* * *

The main meal was…interesting. She had been the first to arrive, summoned by her rumbling stomach to the smells of cooked meat. As was customary in polite company, she waited for her host to arrive before gorging herself. Unfortunately, she realized too late that she was not the only guest invited for the meal.

A very large, both in height and muscle, man walked through the doorway into the dining room and gave her a menacingly slow once-over. She gaped at the sheer size of him: he was almost two feet taller than she. If she had to guess, he could fit three or four of her quite easily.

"A Diminutive Saiyan. I've never seen one of you before." With that, he hoisted her up by her waist and stared over her as if she were a new toy. "It's hard to believe a Saiyan could be this small. Oomphf!" Touch her without her permission, would he? Barely two seconds after he picked her up, she palm-heeled his chest, knocking her free and sending him reeling back several feet. She would have hit him harder, but breaking her host's home seemed a bad idea.

A stream of loud chuckling interrupted anything the giant might have retorted. Chief Vegeta was standing at the opposite side of the dining room, arms crossed and leaning against the far wall. "Nappa, you should be more careful with my guest. I believe she may be a feisty one." To her surprise, the giant chuckled back.

"You aren't kidding. I imagine I am dying a terrible death in her head right now."

She was fuming at the blatant disregard for the inappropriateness of his action. "Several," she bit. That only encouraged the raucous laughter.

"Commander Nappa means no harm, I assure you. He was like a child when we first allied ourselves with the Dormants, practically paraded Envoy Tervas about the camp on his shoulders. I would suggest," he said, then turning to the hunk of meat, "that you do not attempt the same with Envoy Aina. Now, take a seat and we will dine once Envoy Tervas arrives." She did as she was bidden, angry as she was at the whole situation. Neither man had ingratiated himself in her favor, so she sincerely hoped Envoy Tervas provided some semblance of rationality.

She smoothed over her furs and looked over them, distracting herself from the food before her. Such old clothing, but furred beasts were difficult to come by these past several years. If anyone ventured too far away from the encampments, a Tuffle raid might claim new victims. Even in the mountain enclave of the Dominants furred beasts were nowhere to be found. Though the meat smelled good on the table, she knew it came from the giant lizards that inhabited the rocky terrain.

"Ah, good, I had thought you might have started without me." Turning towards the new voice she eyed the slender Saiyan, glad he was closer in size to her. Still, he certainly out-muscled her and was taller. Hopefully he would not be as blunt about his curiosity with Diminutive Saiyans. He took a seat beside her and gave a sharp nod to Chief Vegeta, at which time the men began to eat their fill.

Before she had time to think on the Dormant envoy ignoring her, she grabbed a generous serving of what was available and horded it onto her plate. With such voracious appetites, it was good to know how to pick and choose food quickly lest the males eat everything before she got a chance. None of the men, however, were eating boorishly. Quickly, yes, but they took time to swallow and wipe their faces before stuffing more food in their mouths. Formality. In any other situation, these beasts would be tearing each other apart for each scrap, but in this context they were playing the roles of host and guests and what accounted for polite society deemed the formality necessary. She was glad for it.

Being the daughter of a chief had not exempted her from fighting for food. She and her brother always warred after the best pieces, the outcome differing each time. What she lacked in strength compared to her brother she made up for with speed. Eventually, when they grew older, they learned the value of sharing food and making sure each member of the clan was strong. Little ones needed to learn the basic instinct of competition for survival, but once the lesson was learned it was better to share than to scrabble. Still, the members of her clan ate quickly, and no amount of sharing could make up for inattention or slow fingers. The slow ones would still get food, but the choice bits would already be gone. And she liked having choice.

As with most Saiyan meals, this one did not last long. They sat quiet and still for several moments, allowing their food to digest. Soon, though, Chief Vegeta motioned for everyone to follow him into an adjacent room, supposedly for the meeting he had spoken about. Inside was a long table with a dozen or so chairs surrounding it. Vegeta took the chair at the head of the table and Nappa took the chair to his right. Envoy Tervas sat to the chief's left and she took the chair next to him. It was very subtle, but she could sense the small tensing that was occurring in the other envoy's shoulders. Something about her did not sit well with him, she guessed. The fur about his tail was slightly puffed up, so it was not just her imagination.

A short time later a slew of bulky, battle-worn men came into the room and took up the remainder of the chairs, some even claiming a bit of wall as their space. They all eyed her warily, but deferred to Chief Vegeta before passing verbal judgment. She felt very out of place.

"Edza, what is the latest news from the main camp?" the chief began. A wizened, scarred man turned in his chair and replied.

"Still no luck with the satellite base, Chief. Their fortifications are very heavy."

"What do you recommend?"

"…More men." Her ears perked up when she heard the distinctive sighs of both the chief and Envoy Tervas. Apparently this was not the first time this request had been made. The chief rubbed his temple and scanned the other men.

"Commanders, can any of you spare men for Commander Edza's camp?" Most of the men had to consider their words before replying in the negative. She wondered if there really were no more men to spare, or if they did not want to spare them. "Envoy Tervas, do you believe Chief Dokra would be willing to reinforce the main camp?"

"No." The answer was quick. "Too many Dormant men have been sent away from our settlement never to return, a good many having been sent to the main camp. Chief Dokra will not commit any more warriors than he has already." Tervas spoke softly, but firmly. Vegeta sighed once more and nodded.

"That's what I thought. Envoy Aina, what about Chief Kotak? Do you think he would be able to spare men for the main camp?" All eyes were now on her, and it made her heart jump far faster than she would have liked.

It took her a moment to choose her words carefully. "Kotak has the ability, and the clan has the numbers, but he would not be willing to commit anyone without knowing the battle strategy first. Nor would I make a promise without knowing it either." She took in a deep breath and hoped it would not become difficult to hold her tongue. By no means was she weak, but with more than a dozen battle-ready men boxing her in she would be a fool to provoke them.

Commander Edza cleared his throat and gave her a condescending look. "With their armaments and soldiers, we need vastly superior numbers to overtake them and gain control of the base."

"And what is the strategy?" A fist slammed on the table. It originated from one of the other commanders.

"Are you deaf, girl? The commander just told you!" She remained calm and looked toward the chief. He, however, said nothing. If he had nothing to say, it was either extremely common for yelling matches to occur, or he was seeing how well she could maintain the traditional role of the female. Or, he could just agree with the commander who had called her out. In which case, she was going to have to get used to the idea of being beaten.

She turned back to Commander Edza, ignoring the comment. "How many men do you have under your command right now?"

"About one-thousand, give or take." One thousand? That was a good portion of the entire Saiyan race. Last time she remembered, the Saiyans only numbered in the tens of thousands, the urbanization and oppression of the Tuffles making further growth impossible.

"Forgive me, but that is a very large number. And you say this is a satellite base? The few satellite bases my clan has come across were not very large, and only a handful of men were required to wipe them out. What kind of armaments does this base have?" She could see the commander was growing tired of her questions, but with no word from the chief he had little choice but to respond.

"The usual standard weaponry for the couple hundred troops stationed there, plus a few missile towers and a shield generator. We have run into the issue of the armor plating on the buildings themselves, though. It takes awhile to get through it and by the time we get started the troops start picking us off either from the towers or with the missiles. In order to get through, we need many more men."

"So how are you tackling the missile towers?"

"The missile towers? They're protected by that energy shield."

"Alright, then how are you tackling the energy shield?"

He was beginning to grow red in the face. "Didn't you hear me the first time? We need to focus on getting through the armored walls, not on the energy shield. Why should we waste effort on that? It does not protect the walls, therefore is not important."

"If that is your opinion, then I am afraid the Diminutive clan cannot commit any troops to your command."

"What?! Why the hell not?!" Her heart skipped when the commander's fists slammed against the table, but she had to remain calm. Oh how she wanted to get into a shouting match with this dunder-head. But oh how she also wanted to keep her bones unbroken.

"Tuffle circuitry is all interconnected. Overload any one system, and the whole base goes without power. Without power—"

"What are you babbling on about, damned woman?!" the commander interrupted.

She gave him a sharp look and continued. "Without power, the base's only source of protection is the armored walls and the armed troops. Have one group pick off the troops, while the other takes care of the walls. Without missiles raining down on your heads, and easily taken-care-of Tuffles, taking over the base is only a matter of time. The fact that you do not know this, or that you do not acknowledge this, is a gross weakness in the military leadership of the Saiyan race, and is therefore my opinion that one of such a weak mind is not fit to lead my kinsmen into battle. I will not ask my brother for warriors for your command, and that is final."

Before the uproar matured, Envoy Tervas stood. "She has a point." He then looked towards the chief.

"I am in agreement with the envoys." A wave of argument erupted, fists slamming on the table, voices struggling to be heard over other voices. "Enough!" Vegeta's voice boomed over the din and silence fell immediately. "Do not forget the reason I brought the envoys here. Our clan has been fighting this war for nearly nine years, and we have gotten nowhere. The Dormant alliance helped us maintain our battle-lines, which we were unable to do ourselves; remember the Tuffles almost wiped out our camp here during the first year. The Diminutive clan, though not allied with neither us nor the Dormants, was able to stay alive and well these nine years all by themselves. If we do not listen to the advice these two envoys can give, then we might as well resign ourselves to losing the war. As Envoy Tervas said, Envoy Aina has a point. We will reconvene tomorrow to discuss the new battle strategy, and I expect respect to be given to our guests."

Grumbles followed the commanders from the room, except from commander Nappa, who appeared amused. He chuckled and left the conference room, leaving her, Tervas, and Chief Vegeta behind.

She turned to Tervas and gave him a polite nod. "Thank you." He stiffened.

"Mmm," he managed, nodding to the chief and then taking his leave.

"Chief Vegeta, if I might ask, why is Envoy Tervas acting like he put something up his posterior orifice?" To her relief, Vegeta laughed shortly.

"The Dormant clan is even stricter about women than we are. Women do not speak unless spoken to, and do not hold such positions of authority. Whereas a Dominant woman may gain respect and status by being strong and forceful, Dormant women would get beaten should they attempt to do so. It is a bit archaic, but it is not my place to dictate their traditions. Envoy Tervas is a good man, very knowledgeable about his clan and very respectful to our women, despite his cultural difference. Taking a side with you and not chastising you for speaking so boldly was not something he would ever do, and I believe that is why he is so stiff around you. I suggest you attempt to adhere to his traditions when around him, unless the situation demands otherwise."

"I will try, but I guarantee nothing. So, do you have a place around here I can use for training?"

"There is a large training space behind the main lodgings. Why, do you feel the need to crush something?" She nodded.

"Holding my tongue when someone is so stupidly wrong is very difficult." It was slight, but she saw a change in his eyes.

"Perhaps I will join you. We need to work on your guard." So soft. Damn it, what had she said now? This training session was not going to be fun.

* * *

So close to getting her in his good graces, and then she had to ruin it. To her, the strategy, or lack thereof, of his commanders was idiotic and stupid. Her clan was used to strategizing. His was not. His commander had not been "stupidly wrong" but rather a victim of tradition. She would not change his clan overnight, and trying to insinuate their traditions were stupid was only going to make her life difficult. He hoped he could teach her understanding: the advice she gave was so vital, but that advice was only useful if she could curry favor with not only him but the rest of the commanders. Men did not follow what they were against, no matter how many times they were told to do so.

Beating some sense into her was not necessarily the ideal way to get his message across, but it was a start.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading. Feedback is always appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello again. Sorry for the delay. School is draining away my free time. Never fear, however, for I make sure to write a little every day to keep on an update schedule. By the way, you should check out my profile anytime you want an update on the progress of a story: I regularly post update information and when I expect to have the next chapter up. Thank you, and please enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** Dragonball Z belongs to Akira Toriyama.

* * *

The assumption that Diminutive Saiyans had superior speed was an understatement: the woman was making herself extremely hard to hit. He could see her movements and could anticipate her attacks, but offensively he simply was not built to accommodate such speed. Unfortunately, she appeared to rely too heavily on speed and not enough on strength. A well-balanced repertoire was always necessary, and her lack of such explained her deficiency of a solid guard.

"Very nice, if you wish to tire yourself before finishing off the enemy." That stopped her. Her eyes were icy and cold, black pits of disdain. Somehow, it was attractive. The mere thought of a challenge sent the heart racing of any warm-blooded Saiyan male, especially if that challenge was a female. Truth be told, the challenge was about the only reason he found an attraction for her. She was small and slender, with tied-back medium length black hair. Her clothes hung modestly. These attributes were no different than the many females of his camp. Once he had rid her of that obstinate attitude, he saw no reason for his attraction to linger.

"I have not even begun to tire. And Tuffles seem to find me rather hard to fight off." Her eyes narrowed. Whatever system was held in place in the Diminutive camp seemed to want to get Aina thoroughly killed anywhere else. She was very dominant with her mannerisms and words, something lesser men than he had been known to kill for. Perhaps it would serve her right to mouth off inopportunely in front of Tervas: the envoy was very tolerant of the Dominant females, but throw the feisty Diminutive in with him for an hour or so and he would be tearing her apart.

"The Tuffles are weak creatures. But those blows you dealt me barely hurt. I believe you need to focus more on developing your guard and your strength than you do on your ability to get out of the way." He saw her huff. "Whether you care to take my assessment as truth or not, what is the harm in trying, other than bruising your pride?" She was just out of range for him to hear her teeth grinding. To his surprise, however, he saw her consider his words and relax her shoulders.

"I'm listening."

* * *

Her muscles groaned in protest as she climbed the rocky wall-face. Chief Vegeta certainly had not pulled his punches. It would probably be a good idea for her to learn what exactly she had done to anger him, though she figured she would remain too stubborn to actually take her own advice. She was unsure exactly how to think of the young chief: he had been gracious in accepting her as the Diminutive envoy and had given consideration to her opinion, and yet he could be very cold when they were alone. He saw her as an important asset in public and a thorn in private. Truly she wondered about him.

She pulled herself onto the broad ledge that was her goal and lay flat with her arms crossed behind her head. The moon was visible, had been for a few weeks. It was the thinnest of slivers contrasted with the blanket of stars behind. It would be several more months before it was full, several more months until the winner of the war was decided. If the great beast form of the Saiyan race was not able to conquer the Tuffles, it was only a matter of time before they advanced their technology and wiped every last one of them out. Yes, that day would be the defining moment of the war. The race had been lucky the last time it had happened, lucky that the Tuffles were so caught off-guard. They would be prepared this time. If a decisive strike was not made during that short night of raw power, the Saiyan race would be no more.

The sky seemed so much closer atop the mountain. Though she had grown up in the floodplain, she could see herself being very comfortable here, if only because she could see the stars more clearly. She had, however, not yet been in the village for more than five or six hours and she had already created rumblings. Men were not used to being told off by a woman, even among her people. Though, the Diminutive males would never physically harm a female if she angered him, and she had a strong feeling that domestic disputes between men and women were commonplace among the other Saiyans. She had to be extremely careful about who she insults and how hard she treads. The chief did not take her lightly, but she knew he was just as much a slave to tradition as the others. Perhaps that had something to do with her aching muscles.

She stared into the sky and contemplated for about an hour more before heading down the mountain and into the chief's residence. There was no way to tell how early the Dominants rose, so she figured getting a head start on sleep was prudent. And necessary. She barely had time to pull off her garments before she fell asleep.

* * *

She fascinated him for no good reason. He had been focusing on some correspondence and had gotten through the majority of them when he picked up a strange scent. It took him a moment to realize it was the scent of his Diminutive envoy. With the only time alone with her the short time in her room and the training session, he had not yet committed her scent to memory. The scent itself was strange because it did not smell unwashed or dirty. Surely she was not freshly laundered, and he had seen dirt on her clothing, but she did not smell unkempt like those of his camp. She simply smelled earthy.

He had a feeling many tiny details like that would be distracting him over the next few days until he became accustomed to her presence. The way she moved, for example. Each step, each movement seemed calculated and precise. It was slightly unnerving to witness. During the meeting, her hands had stayed clasped atop her lap and her head only moved when changing addressees. On their way into camp, she had stepped carefully over small rocks and did not waste a movement. Patience could do much to temper one's abilities, it appeared. Strategy demanded patience, while his people barely knew the meaning.

Above all else, however, the detail that had not yet surfaced but soon would was the particular scent a female produced when she was in heat. She was of the proper age to bear children and he had not scented blood on her at any point, so she would become fertile very soon. He was able to control himself, to some degree, around the women of his clan when they began their cycle. But those women were usually mated or being sought after, yet Aina was not. The women of his clan also did not reside in his residence. Moreover, his own temptations were less of a concern when compared to the other men of his clan. At least he had dignity enough to accept the arousal and find a quiet place to relieve himself. Others might not be so inclined. Unwanted sexual contact was looked down upon, but not uncommon. If someone ballsy enough wanted to, they would not ask for his envoy's permission.

An uncomfortable subject, but he would need to speak with her tomorrow about it. Until the men of the clan became accustomed to her presence and her scents, she would be vulnerable.

* * *

There was no loud noise or a stream of shouting, just the sinful scent of breakfast to wake her up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, stretching before standing from the bed. Quickly, she donned her furs and boots, wanting the distance between her and her quarry to disappear. This morning, it was only she and the chief eating, and he had a head start. He looked up sharply when she came into the room and stared for a few seconds before returning to his meal. Since he made no objection when she sat, she assumed she was welcome to what was on the table. A good rule to remember around Saiyan males was to always test their willingness to share food. Too quick of an assumption had led to severe injury and even death over the simple matter of sustenance. The chief seemed to be quite the opposite of the hoarding beast, at least this morning.

As she ate, a thought came to her mind. "Chief, if you don't mind my asking, where do you get all of this food? I hardly think you prepare all of it, but I have not scented any other permanent residents here." He looked up and finished his piece of meat.

"We maintain large public food stores: you will learn soon enough that hunting parties go out nearly every day to replenish the stock. As for the preparation, the women have taken it upon themselves to work in rotation to prepare each of my meals." When she gave him a look of disdain he chuckled. "Do not give me the feminist look. They volunteered. My father kept a cook, since he tended to eat more than his fill and could not cook to save his life. I, on the other hand, feel uncomfortable with someone underfoot. After several poor attempts at cooking my own food, though, the women decided to prepare my meals at their homes and deliver them quietly."

She looked at the amount of food, not including what already lay within Vegeta's stomach. "They must really like you," she condescended.

"Well, what can I say? I am quite the catch." She almost laughed. If she been any less stubborn, she would have. She cleared her throat and blanked her face.

"By the way, I have not scented Envoy Tervas here either. Does he not guest here as well?"

"I live near many people, and those many people have many conflicting customs with his own. When he first arrived, it was deemed by me, and agreed on by him, that he live as far away from the women as possible. He resides with Commander Nappa and the commander's mate." Now she had to laugh.

"That oaf has a mate? I daresay your women have a lack in taste. And Tervas wanted to live with him, even when he paraded the man around upon his arrival?"

His eyes hardened. Well, she expected that. She _had_ called his commander an oaf. But there was no way she was going to hold her tongue about _that_. "Tervas, for all his reservations, has an easy understanding with Commander Nappa. The commander's wife is stubborn, but willing to adhere to the envoy's culture. However, I must agree with you that we were all very shocked when he chose a mate and she accepted. Nappa is…very rough around the edges." At least his voice had not softened. "Aina, has your fertile cycle started? I can smell something of it on your person."

She about spit out her food. "What kind of question is that?! We go from speaking about the Dormant envoy and Commander Nappa to my monthly bodily functions; is there some sort of order to that brain of yours, or is it all for show?"

"I ask because it is of particular importance that you stay on your guard while fertile. The men of my clan are very sensitive to the scent of a female in heat, and are not prone to holding themselves back. You should stay within doors for awhile until the men have gotten used to your presence." She eyed him suspiciously.

"And what do I do about you? You're definitely male, and I have not been around you very long. Am I in danger even now?" She crossed her hands under her chin and leaned closer to him.

"No, you are safe in my home and around me. I have a great measure of control. But do not leave here without either myself or an escort of my choosing. I am very serious about this," he added, cutting off her scoff. "Now, shortly the commanders will arrive and we will begin strategizing for the elimination of the Tuffle satellite base. If you can keep your head level and your body carefully poised, the men should pose no more of a problem than they did yesterday. Understand?"

She wanted to be stubborn and say "no" but everything told her he was correct and she should obey, as much as it pained her to admit it. "Yes."

* * *

For all that he had told her, she had followed his instructions carefully and fully. Yet, she still managed to find trouble.

The meeting had convened as planned and Aina was careful to lean only as much as needed when explaining the plan. She had grabbed a sheet of slate and a sharp rock to make a rough diagram of a satellite base she had experience with, making corrections as needed for any changes in the current base. Despite her tempered movements, eyes still followed her hungrily. Yes, she certainly had started her fertile cycle. The scent was mild during breakfast but had intensified over the course of the day. Even he could not say truthfully that he was unaffected.

"…three groups to take out the generator, missile launchers, and the wall, respectively." He came back to the present and listened as the Diminutive envoy explained the strategy. "Each group should be no larger than twenty to thirty men. While the first group is destroying the shield generator, the other two should be blasting missiles from the sky. There will be laser fire, which will need to be avoided. Some projectile fire is expected as well, but other than fragment grenades they should pose little danger. Once the shield is destroyed, the generator and missile groups will take out the missile launchers and the men stationed at the turrets. The third will begin their assault on the walls. Once the walls are breached, all three groups will make their way inside and destroy the systems inside. I estimate this should take no longer than a few hours to complete. Is anything unclear?"

"According to this plan, fewer than one hundred men will be needed. Doesn't that seem a little low a number?" Edza, the commander from the main camp, asked. He appeared much more civilized today.

The envoy nodded her head. "Yes, it is a small number in comparison with what has been tried before. But trust me when I say this is a generous number. Comparative to my clan, the strength wielded by ninety Dominant warriors is three-fold that of one hundred Diminutive warriors. There should be no problem executing the plan with low numbers. Besides, too many men would only serve to confuse the ranks and more casualties would be the result." Surprisingly, Commander Edza nodded in agreement.

Edza towards him. "I will relay the plan to my men and will inform you when it is ready to be executed."

"I will be a part of it as well. Whichever group is fine." His commander nodded. "Dismissed." He hung back as Nappa came to his side. They both stayed silent until the little envoy took her leave. "So old friend, what do you think of the Diminutive's plan?" The commander gave a short, dry laugh.

"I have never been much for plans and strategies. As long as I am given a target and a direction, I'm perfectly content. For everyone's sake, though, I hope it works. She sure sounded confident enough. By the way, was it just me or is she…well, you know." He did not sound hungry, simply intrigued. It must be nice to be mated and have that sort of self-control.

"Yes, she is. That reminds me. While her condition will likely change before the battle commences, I think she will still need an escort while I am away. She hates you, but—What was that?" A sonorous crash resonated along the walls into the meeting room.

"It came from your guest quarters." One moment they were standing in the meeting room, the next the pair of them were outside Aina's room, witnessing the aftermath of who knew what.

Goda, one of the junior commanders, was lying on the ground just inside the door, a hand clutched tightly over the left side of his face. Blood seeped through his fingers. "You bitch! What the hell did you do?!" He was obviously unaware of either his chief's or Commander Nappa's presence. The Diminutive envoy was facing the door, but she, too, was oblivious.

"Touch me again and I will take your eye! I don't care who you are!" She was raging, but unharmed. Her furs were slightly askew, and her tail was extended and ruffled, but her body was unscathed.

The junior commander began to stand. "I will end--!" Goda had no time before he grabbed his junior commander and spun him around.

"You best be careful what you do around my envoys or any female for that matter." He delivered a swift uppercut to Goda's stomach, just enough to knock him unconscious. "Commander Nappa, carry out his punishment, and make sure he is an example to the other men."

Nappa grabbed the unconscious body and slung it over his shoulder. "Yes, sir. Oh, and I think she would be fun to guard." He waited for his commander to leave before turning to the heated female before him.

"I did nothing wrong!" Her voice cracked. "I was leaving, getting out of the way of all those _males_, and he followed me. He pushed me against the wall, grabbed at me, ground himself against me. I defended myself, I—" He silenced her by wrapping his arms around hers, and felt her shaking.

* * *

She did not know why, but the warmth from his body soothed her. All the thoughts swimming in her mind became untangled and calmed. It was true, then. Chiefs certainly held a power that no one else did. He pulled away from her and broke all physical contact. The embrace had been to calm and collect, and now it had no purpose.

"I imagine he felt you were easy prey and decided to act upon his desires. He is not a bad boy, but he is very young. You are new here, and you are in heat. He deserved what you did, but he will learn from it and his subsequent punishment, and will be better for it. I am glad you did not blind him." His voice was confusing, because it was soft but not condescending.

"There are not many Saiyans left, and blinding him for his transgression, while appealing, was not my choice to make." She damned herself for the still uneven voice, but at least she could speak without being hysterical.

The chief nodded. "I am glad you understand. But now you see my concerns at breakfast were not unfounded. Commander Nappa will provide escort whenever I am not available. He is the strongest of the Dormants, next to me, and will keep you safe. Can you live with that?"

She sighed and wanted to scream. But she realized Vegeta was correct in his assessment and hated him for it. The oaf was, well, an oaf, but she believed they would come to an understanding. "I can."

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Wow, it's been a little while since I've updated, but I hope to update more regularly in the future once finals are over with. I know I promised to update "Doctor Doctor" before this one, but "Doctor Doctor" has been a little slow-going, and I have so much inspiration for this fic right now. Like I said at the beginning of Chapter 1, this story will develop slower than my other ones, because the relationship must take awhile to be established. BUT, things start to happen in this chapter, so I hope you will enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** Dragonball Z belongs to Akira Toriyama.

* * *

Chief Vegeta had been gone for a little over a week, having left the day after her incident. His commander had requested his presence to straighten out some final details of the plan. Though the chief was not as knowledgeable as she, since it was _her_ plan, he was the next best thing. Commander Edza might have difficulties accepting her strategies, but he was intelligent enough to realize she would be irresistible prey to the hordes of men gathered at the main camp. So Vegeta had gone and had given her specific instructions to listen to Commander Nappa and not to cause any trouble. Surprisingly, those orders were easier to follow than she had expected.

She had temporarily taken up residence in the commander's home while the chief was absent and found it very pleasant. Torae, Nappa's mate, was a stout woman with a temper to match, but the way she and her mate interacted could make the most cold-hearted person smile. It was always subtle and yet it spoke volumes. A small touch of the hip, a tail wrapped about a wrist, just little things that showed how much they cared for each other. It was rather annoying, however, that she was having romantic notions of her own.

Whatever it was that made chiefs chiefs made them slightly different than other Saiyans. Her brother could always make her feel better whenever she was in pain or in a bad mood, just by being close to her. Vegeta had a similar effect on her, but it was slightly different than it had been with her brother. She was not an idiot, she realized she had been in heat for the past week and her thoughts were merely the manifestations of an unfulfilled mating, but each time she saw her temporary guardian and his mate her thoughts went to the chief. Had he not embraced her after the incident, her thoughts would be filled with males from back home that she had found enjoyable. His absence made life a bit more tolerable, since she did not have to see the object of her wandering mind, but in some ways she missed his presence.

She shook her head and sighed. Even when trying to clear her head he pervaded her mind. The wind ruffled her hair and brought with it the rocky scent of the mountains. An orange tint colored the sky as the sun descended slower and slower about the horizon. She worried for the men at the main camp; it had been more than a week and still no word had come about the outcome of the attack. With the sun setting she might as well head back inside and come back tomorrow to wait for news.

Inside, Nappa, his mate, and Tervas were all seated about the dining table, helping themselves to the generous meal Torae had prepared. She bowed her head a little when Tervas looked her way and took a seat next to him. The Dormant envoy had proven himself less of a chauvinist than she had first anticipated. He did flinch whenever she or Torae did something blatantly different than a Dormant female, but held his tongue and remained civil. He also tolerated conversation, and she had learned a great deal about him and she found him a pleasant person.

"Smell anything tonight?" the brutish commander said in between mouthfuls.

She took a bite of some sort of roasted animal and chewed carefully before answering. "Just the usual. I am concerned about the duration of the campaign, as it was not supposed to take more than a day or so to complete."

"It is possible the campaign has not yet started. My experience has been, and do pardon me Commander, that Dominant males tend to be slow when it comes to doing anything but bashing skulls in." Nappa grunted in agreement and Torae laughed.

"That is certainly true. Why, trying to get this man to do anything but cavort with the other males is a chore in and of itself."

She laughed when the commander shrugged his shoulders and continued eating. "Yes, Envoy Tervas, I do believe you have a point. It would have taken some time to select the warriors for the assault, and it is entirely possible they are still continuing to do so. But you can understand my concern?"

"Yes, Envoy Aina, I do understand. It is your plan they are carrying out, and it would be disastrous if it failed. If it does fail, I believe the fault will lie not with the plan, but with those executing it. It is just shame you were unable to go along to see it put into action." She nodded and turned back to her food. The Dormant envoy was very perceptive. She hoped nothing went awry.

* * *

The morning brought with it frantic shouts and rumbling bodies. She dressed quickly and followed the commotion outside. More than half the tribe must have been gathered at the front of the camp. She wondered why and then a heavy scent of blood wafted forth. Many men, several with bloody injuries, set down as gently as they could and sunk to the dirt. Others escorted them and shouted for help. The women quickly went to work, sending their children either away or to fetch supplies. Most of the injuries did not look mortal, but several of them were in danger of becoming so.

She saw Torae scrambling back from her home with an armful of medical supplies, bandages and stitching material mostly. "What can I do to help?" She had a knowledge of first aid, but she knew most of the Dominant men were not on any sort of terms with her yet. Injured or not, she wanted to be cautious.

A small amount from Torae's armful was deposited into her own. "Go tend to the chief. I saw him slink off so that his men would be tended first, but I think he's injured."

The commander's mate was correct, as she found out upon entering the chief's home. The scent of blood was present, but not at a life-threatening level. She scented her way to the chief's sleeping quarters and found him sitting the edge of his bed, tugging at one of the small barbs embedded in his arm. There were dozens more.

"Don't do that!" she scolded, rushing over to stay his hand. He growled and attempted to bat her away, but she thrust her other hand into the center of his chest and knocked him flat on the bed. "Stop it, you stubborn male. I'm going to help you." He sat back up, but did not growl.

"Attend to the others first. I'm alright." He began to stand up but she forced him back down. Now he growled.

"Knock it off. The others are being attended to by the rest of the village, and you are most certainly not alright. You got hit by a fragment grenade, did you not?" Even without him answering she could tell he had. His right arm was dotted with tiny barbs, each embedded at a different level. There was not a great amount of blood yet, but he had aggravated some by tugging at one of the barbs.

He huffed out an affirmative and looked away. She had the feeling he was not used to being given orders. At least he was cooperating, which meant she could treat him. "These barbs have to be taken out carefully. You'll tear your skin more if you do it by yourself, and you're strong enough to break off some of the spines. Those spines stay in your arm and infection will set in. Now, lean up against the wall and let me get them out."

He did as he was told and she sat next to him on the bed. She had no knife to dig out the edges of the barbs, but the stitching needle Torae had given her worked about the same. To credit the chief, he made very little noise even when she knew she was causing him pain. The process took a little less than an hour, but finally she had extricated the lot of the barbs. His arm was now bleeding a lot more, so she placed her hand over it and sent a tiny amount of chi to the area. It would temporarily cauterize the wounds—and clean them--, without nerve damage, while she stitched them up.

When the wounds were stitched and covered she felt his other hand on her shoulder. "It's all done now. You'll be able to keep your arm." She covered his hand with hers. "You need to rest now, but I will go and see how everyone else is faring. If you are feeling up to it later, we can speak. I am curious to know how everything went. Does that sound reasonable?" Reluctantly, he nodded his head. "Good. Lie down for a few hours, sleep if you can, and I will see you later.

* * *

How that little woman had been dominant over him he had no idea. It sort of just happened. Part of it had been because he knew she was correct about his injury, but the other part had been her blunt show of force. He would be lying if he said her care had been entirely unpleasant. Sure, it had hurt like hell, but he found he liked the gentle side of her. The only weakness she had shown since she had been here was her small breakdown after the attempted rape. But she showed she actually had a nature other than the stoic grump she had been.

He took her advice and lied down, though he did not sleep. There was too much going through his mind for that. For two hours he let his body rest, but after that he could not stay still any longer. He found the Diminutive envoy outside, conversing with Torae. It was his commander's mate that spotted him first.

"Ah, our chief awakens." Aina turned around, a pink tinge to her cheeks. Interesting. "Why don't the two of you go have that conversation you were going to have, and Aina can inform you of what has been going on out here. Can't have the rest of the women following you around like you were a wounded babe, now can we?" She had a point, so he turned back and walked into his home, the envoy trailing close behind.

He led her to his office area and motioned for her to take a seat, which was really just a large boulder conveniently located in front of his make-shift desk. "So, how is everyone doing?"

"Everyone has been tended to, and all but four are in the clear. The others have been moved and are being watched constantly: they lost a lot of blood, but I think they have a good chance of making it as long as they make it through the night. Um, almost everyone who came back was injured. Did…did the others not make it?" He saw the distance in her eyes, the tears pooling at the corners. Something grasped at his heart. This was not what he expected from her at all. She was genuinely concerned for the well-being of his men. She did not want her plan to be the cause of so much pain.

"No, that's not it. The men with minor or no injuries stayed back at the main camp. That's where they were stationed, after all. This camp is not nearly big enough for all of them, especially when the injured need all the room they can get. Two men, however, did perish." He saw a visible twinge in her face.

"I see. Did the base fall?" She was not accustomed to death, at least not death she had had some hand in. Not that the death was her fault, but he knew she would think it was anyway.

"Yes. The plan worked well. A couple less-experienced men did not look around them when the missiles were being fired and were taken out. Their death is no fault of yours, I can assure you of that. Without your insight, many more would have died."

She made a small noise and pinched her lips together. "I am glad my skills were of use. Forgive me, I should compose myself. We Diminutives have never had a situation quite like this, and I am not sure of how to handle it." She stood and sped away from the office. He liked that she was more than a stubborn female, but he too was facing a situation he did not quite know how to handle.

* * *

It had been years since she had cried. The last time was right after her parents had been killed. Saiyans naturally had guarded emotions, but with the current situation she felt she had every reason to cry. So she did. She sat on the rocky outcropping she had discovered during her first night in the Dormant camp and let the tears roll down her cheeks. The plan had worked, but still men had died. Even though she knew she was not responsible in the least, she did not feel as though nothing were her fault.

"It's a natural feeling, to know you took the right action yet feel responsible for any misstep." Her head shot up to see Vegeta standing behind her. She stood quickly, a little too quickly. A warm arm wrapped around her to keep her from tumbling off the outcropping, even though she would have stopped the fall mid-air. "It is also natural," he said, laughing gently, "to lose your wits when someone finds you sulking." She wiped her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I am not sulking." His arm was still at her back and he was very close to her. Something tingled down her body, a semi-pleasurable feeling she was not all too comfortable with.

"Really? Well, then you were doing the most sulking-like not sulking I have ever seen." She gave him a stare.

"Those men died while executing a plan I put together. I don't care how much it is not my fault, it still feels like it anyway. I have the right to sulk if I want to!" He still had not let her go, and it was irritating in the oddest way.

"Go ahead, but that won't change anything. Those men are dead and the base is destroyed, and both happened while executing your plan. Think of how many men died before you came along. Hundreds, Aina, hundreds died because they did not have the patience to come up with a plan. Dominants are brutes to the core, and we don't have the capacity for patience, not by ourselves. You have already started to change that, so don't you think otherwise. We are at war, more people will die, and you will have to come to terms with that. I cannot have you shutting down, not after you have given us a fighting chance." His voice was soft and his grip had tightened.

"I apologize. I forget that you have been on the frontlines of this war since the beginning. I guess it is an insult for me to get upset over the events of today." The chief laughed.

" I do believe that is the first time I have ever heard you apologize." The smile on his face threw her off.

"I do possess the ability, but I only use it when I actually need to. Don't get used to it, I don't apologize often."

He chuckled softly. "I can live with that." And she did not know what to reply. She stood facing him, his arm around her back, warmth flooding the front of her body. His eyes stared back at hers, never faltering. It seemed so natural when his free hand caressed her left cheek, so natural when the hand cupped the back of her head, so natural when he bent over her, so natural when he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her fully.

* * *

A/N: I know that's not a lot of development, but it's finally getting started. It will still be awhile before any full citrus appears, but they may make a few cameos along the way. :) Hope you enjoyed.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello again! I think if I manage to update once a month, I'm doing well. I wanted to make a quick clarification for anyone who might be confused: this story takes place six years before Planet Vegeta is destroyed by Frieza, which means it is one years before the Saiyan/Tuffle War ends. Nappa is Nappa from DBZ, Vegeta is King Vegeta, etc. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one.

**Disclaimer:** Dragonball Z belongs to Akira Toriyama

**Warning:** Tiny, tiny bit of citrus-y material.

* * *

His lips were so soft against hers. Odd to think a hardened Saiyan warrior would have soft lips. She had been kissed before, by some of the men in her village, but this one was different. This one she enjoyed. It was not the sloppy attempt of a virginal male, but the passionate melting of a chief.

Her mind came back to her then. She pushed back against him, broke the kiss, and slipped off the edge of the cliff. There were several feet between her and the next ledge when she stopped herself, but she felt as though all the breath was knocked out of her. The chief looked down at her and seemed ready to follow, so she darted away. There was no possible situation she wanted to be in that involved her staying in his home that night.

* * *

Damn him, he thought to himself. Why did he do that, least of all to his new envoy? It was certainly enough to threaten the new alliance with the Diminutives: Kotak had been very clear about no harm, physical or otherwise, coming to his sister. All it would take was a slight exaggeration of the truth to think harm had come to Aina. It was not allowable for his hormones, or whatever stupid bodily aspect had caused this, to overrule common sense and judgment.

He had thought about chasing after her when she flew off. Decency demanded he apologize for what was obviously unwanted contact: why else would she have flown off so suddenly? If he chased after her, however, there was a good chance he would only make matters worse. Perhaps if he let her be tonight and confront her in the morning she would be more open to discussing the contact. Until then, he hoped she did not tell anyone, lest the information reach her brother.

It was a nice kiss, though.

* * *

She had barely slept at all that night. There were so many things she was thinking of, especially about the following day when she would have to speak with the chief. No way to get around that awful situation, not if she wanted to lay out the ground rules and secure the fragile alliance between her people and his. She dearly hoped it had been unintentional, just something that happened in the moment. If Chief Vegeta had in any way planned that kiss, it would make everything that much more difficult. But she was an envoy, so he must know that any sort of intimate contact with her would be terribly inappropriate.

The morning meal did not sit well in her stomach. In all her life she had never run into a situation like this. It took every ounce of strength she could muster just to walk up to the chief's home. There was no formal custom for going into a person's home, but she took her time with each step and tried not to make too much noise. She swore at herself silently: she was trying to be so quiet, and yet the whole purpose of her being here was to find and speak with the chief, not hide from him.

Saiyan noses were a wonderful thing: she smelled him and discerned he was in the training area at the far end of the structure. When she reached the area, she had to admire the man before her. Vegeta had taken off his tunic, bearing his well-sculpted chest to the air. Sweat gleamed off each muscle and showed no trace of fat on his body. Part of her whimpered a little. There was no denying a physical attraction, not now. She could do without the facial hair, as it had tickled her a little during the kiss, but everything else made her knees weak. Which was exactly why she had to set boundaries with him.

She cleared her throat. "Chief Vegeta, could we talk?" He did not seem surprised as he turned to face her: he had probably smelled or heard her when she came in. His face seemed pained.

"Yes, I think that would be best." He made no move to leave the training area, so this was as good a place as any to have this conversation.

"I—" they both began, quickly cutting themselves off to let the other speak. Vegeta ceded his speech.

"I think I need to lay down some rules." She swallowed and tried to avoid looking at the chief's eyes directly. "But first, I need to know if you intended to kiss me, before the discussion on the cliff."

The chief took in a deep breath. "No, of course not. Did you intend to accept a kiss from me before the discussion?"

Her cheeks reddened a little. _Yes_, her body wanted to say. But no, it had been unintentional, just not necessarily unwelcome. "No. So, can we both safely say the kiss was just a fluke? Neither of us are rocks, after all, and these things happen." Vegeta nodded, placing his hands on his hips.

"These things happen." He shifted nervously and swallowed. "Aina, I would never intentionally jeopardize the alliance between our clans. Your brother made me promise no harm would come to you, and he had a very serious look in his eyes when he told me this that told me he did not just mean harm from violence." She had to laugh a little.

"That sounds like Kotak. You know, he has never even broached the subject of my choosing a mate? There have been offers, oh yes, but each time a man entered proud and ready to ask for permission, he exited hunched and sweating. My brother is a scary man when it comes to me." She was relieved when she saw the chief smile in kind.

"Will you be omitting this little incident, then?"

"Yes, I will." She sighed and rocked back on her heels. A warm smile curved her lips. "It's a stupid thing to end an alliance over, and I am sure with the proper explanation my brother would understand, but it is good to discuss these things. And good to learn when to keep certain things hidden from him." She laughed again. "Not too long ago, not long after Kotak became chief, I went out hunting with a few of the young boys. I wanted to show them how to catch rock-hoppers; I'm not sure if it is the same here, but catching rock-hoppers does not constitute adult male exertion.

"So, we were scrambling along the rocky outcroppings on the hills behind our camp. The boy were having very little luck with the rock-hoppers, mostly just scared them away. I told them to be patient, but as with all little boys patience is the furthest thing from their minds. I demonstrated how to lie low and wait for one of the small beasts to come to me and then I caught one. They were amazed, and of course wanted to show off to their teacher. Well, one little boy did not heed the lesson as much as I had hoped. A rock-hopper jumped onto a rock right next to me and the boy lunged for it. Now, the boys were only using sharpened sticks as their hunting tools, but with the force of a lunging boy behind one, it can really do some damage. He hit me instead.

"Fortunately, it was just a grazing wound and not a puncture, but it still was pretty bad. I had never seen someone more scared in my life at that moment. Sure, I was in pain, but that was nothing compared to the boy. He was so pale at the thought of my telling my brother what had happened. I wound up telling my brother I had tripped over one of the fleeing rock-hoppers and gashed myself against a rock, and he believed me. But that little boy was the perfect student from then on."

Vegeta was smiling. "I doubt he believed you. I sure would not have."

"Perhaps, but he at least let me think he believed me, and that's good enough for me. So, do you have any siblings?"

"No. Once my father got his heir, my mother refused to have any more children. Ironically enough, she died in childbirth when I was about five. The child did not survive."

She stopped smiling. "That must have been hard. I mean, you're a tough Saiyan warrior, but I'm guessing that did not matter so much back then." To her surprise, he laughed lightly.

"I was the whiniest child when my mother was alive, and for awhile after, too. When I was finally old enough to feel the loss of my mother, the whining stopped. My father finally began teaching me some of the chiefly duties, and I found more people started to gain respect for me. Nappa stopped picking on me, especially when I became stronger than he."

"You and Commander Nappa were rivals?" He laughed harder.

"Not exactly, we were only ten. It was more an 'I am bigger than you, so hah' squabble. We have been friends since I bested him in a sparring match; he likes that he has competition."

"That does not surprise me in the least. I think I may have misjudged him a little prematurely. He is not as brutish as I thought. I think Torae has something to do with that, though." She giggled and sighed. "Maybe that kiss was not such a terrible thing. This is the first time we have actually talked like two normal people."

"Perhaps if I make a pass at you later, we will wind up revealing our deepest, darkest secrets to each other," he jested. She laughed and shook her head knowingly. "So, did the brat leave you with a scar?"

She whipped her head up. "Well, now, that was a sudden transition."

"I wanted to ask, but the conversation was a little distracting. I promise I won't laugh if you're horribly disfigured." No laughter might come from his mouth, but his eyes were dancing with it. He was a bit of a bastard, which she had to admit she liked.

She stepped closer to him and turned around, back towards him. Moving the left side of her tunic aside, she revealed a long, faint scar across her shoulder blade. "It's not very noticeable, but yes, the 'brat' did scar me." Everything suddenly got much warmer as a hand not her own traced the thin scar.

"That is not so bad. I'm guessing the one on my arm will be more impressive than this little thing, once it has healed. I have a few elsewhere, too, if you have not noticed. What about you? Any other scars I cannot see?" She had noticed a few on his back and arms, but she supposed the inquiry was more to see if she had noticed him rather than to acknowledge his battle wounds. He did not stop stroking her shoulder.

"A few, mostly miniscule ones from childhood learning experiences, like falling off a rock after being told to get down. I don't have a battle scars, though." Her breath hitched when he dragged a nail across the underside of her shoulder blade. It was not as though she were stopping it, however: she still was holding her tunic to the side.

"Women are allowed to go to battle in your clan, are they not?" He had moved closer to her, heat from his chest enveloping her backside.

"Yes, but it is not so much that I am a woman than it is that I am the sister of the chief. Kotak has no heirs, not even a mate yet, and until he does I cannot be risked. He is the strongest warrior of my clan, and therefore goes off fighting regularly. If he dies, I must take his place until either I produce an heir or the right of succession has taken place amongst the males of the clan. And the right of succession is a very long process, even longer during war. He has put his faith in me as a leader and looks to me to be ready to take over if the need should ever arise. Which is why I have no battle scars, because I have never been in battle."

"So he has put quite a bit of faith in me as well, placing you into my care." His hand moved from her shoulder and to her neck, where it pushed her hair over her right shoulder. She slowly turned around, not wanting to have his hands leave her entirely. Actually, she did not know what she wanted of him, just that she knew it would pain her to break contact.

"Yes. He trusts you greatly. I am not sure what you said to him during negotiations, but you must have impressed him." He murmured something in the affirmative as his hand traced her collarbone. She breathed in slowly, the strange sensation she had felt before, when he had kissed her, coming back.

"Then, I should do the utmost in my power to keep you safe, and not do anything to break his trust." A finger caressed her earlobe and she felt her knees weaken.

"No, nothing to break his trust," she breathed. It was then that she spread her fingers over his chest and admired each dazzling muscle. She felt herself being moved backwards until her back came up against the cool rock face of the training area. He teased her flesh with light caresses of his fingers here and there, ever proper and restrained. She wrapped her arms partially about his torso and attempted to move him closer. When he did not budge, she gave him a hard stare. "I do believe, Chief, that if you do not kiss me I will become very angry."

A knowing smile came to his face. "I would not want to anger my envoy." He wrapped his arms about her and lifted her off the ground, his lips claiming hers as soon as they were in reach. They played against hers, gentle and impassioned. A hand glided down her back and smoothed over her buttocks as it cupped them underneath and brought her hips closer to him. The offending hand spiked that strange feeling, a sensation now working its way between her legs and through her breasts.

When his tongue slid against her lips, she granted him entry and met the hot kiss blow to blow. She wrapped her arms around his neck and spread her fingers through his hair, pushing him closer within her. Gradually, he set her down on the ground, but did not break the kiss. His hands now free from supporting her, one stayed atop her buttocks while the other tested the boundaries around her breasts. The hand touched the underside and the valley, but did nothing more than tease until she grabbed his hand and set it firmly on top of her left breast. The invitation was accepted wholeheartedly as his hand grabbed the sumptuous flesh and kneaded it slowly.

"Vegeta, did you want a sparring….partner?" The sound of Nappa's voice flung the two quickly apart, but not quickly enough. "I guess you already have one." He chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "I'll come back later."

They looked at each other when the commander had left, both faces bright red. "So, um, Envoy Aina, what were those boundaries?"

"Hmm?" She was still trying to catch her breath.

"You were going to set some boundaries for us, but never got around to telling me."

"Oh, those, that's right. Well, we cannot do anything to jeopardize the alliance, and anything like that kiss could be misconstrued so many ways. And, in light of, well, recent events, I think we should make it a point to not be alone together. You are an attractive male, and I am…I am female, so we need to try to be away from each other when we are in the same space without anyone else present, and we should be as clothed as possible. And, maybe, you could show favor to one of the local women."

"What?" Perhaps that had not been the correct thing to say, but what was done was done.

"If your body is satisfied, mine won't be as appealing. I will just be your envoy, nothing more." He huffed a bit and his eyes hardened a little. Damn, that definitely was the wrong thing to say.

"Good idea," he said very softly, leaving the training area. Oh, yes, she was the champion of pissing him off.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. Like I have said before, it will take awhile to get to the actual lemony material, but some stuff will happen along the way. I really want this to be a nicely drawn-out relationship.


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